FILM

Downtown library offers documentary series

All film screenings are free

3/25/2013

BLADE STAFF

A still image from ‘Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles.’

Documentaries exploring how to safely store radioactive waste for thousands of years, the mystery of the puzzling Toynbee Tiles, and a battle waged by Scottish homeowners against Donald Trump headline this spring’s Film Focus series.

The independent film festival runs 6:15 p.m. Mondays through April 29 at the McMaster Center at the Toledo-Lucas County Public Main Library, 325 Michigan St. in downtown Toledo.

Today: Into Eternity, 75 minutes. Danish filmmaker Michael Madsen offers a provocative documentary about the 100,000-year lifespan of high-level radioactive waste created by nuclear power plants and placed in interim storages. In Finland, the world’s first permanent repository is being hewn out of solid rock — a huge system of tunnels — that must last for millennia. But how do you warn future generations thousands of years from now of the invisible danger inside?

April 1: You’ve Been Trumped, 95 minutes. This David and Goliath documentary details the story of a group of proud Scottish homeowners who take on a familiar celebrity tycoon. At stake is one of Britain’s last stretches of wilderness. This entertaining, inspiring, and at times heartbreaking documentary is a parable for our celebrity-driven times.

April 8: Planet of Snail, 88 minutes. At its core a love story, this documentary from Finland/Japan/South Korea follows Young-Chan, a deaf and blind man, who has no idea how to participate in the world until he meets Soon-Ho. He communicates with his wife Soon-Ho through finger braille, and they rely on one another completely. Everyday tasks require complex collaboration and become tender shared experiences. This beautiful film combines breathtaking imagery with Young-Chan’s personal writings.

April 15: Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles, 86 minutes. Documentary meets detective story in this exploration of the origin of hundreds of tiles that have mysteriously appeared on streets in cities across the United States and South America in the past three decades. As researcher Justin Duerr pieces together key past events, he finds a story more surreal than he could have imagined and one that hits disturbingly close to home.

April 22: Found Memories, 98 minutes. Every day, Madalena makes bread, crosses the railways where no trains have passed for years, cleans up the gate of the locked cemetery, and listens to the priest’s sermon before sharing lunch with the other villagers left in town. Upon the arrival of a visiting photographer, a deep relationship is forged, which gradually builds to have a profound effect on their lives, as well as the rest of the villagers. This deeply contemplative drama from Brazil/Argentina/France demonstrates the power of still images and still moments.

April 29: Award-Winning Family-Friendly Shorts. An entertaining collection of short films recognized by the American Library Association. There will be an encore screening of Award-Winning Family Friendly Shorts at 2 p.m. May 4 at McMaster Center.

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